Degrade
by shinigami-Reno
Summary: What happens when a certain mad scientist isn't dead? What happens if a certain redheaded turk gets in the crossfire? Eventual CloudxReno
1. Chapter 1: Breaking Down

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot bunnies it took to come up with this half-assed idea for a fic.

(This takes place a couple months after Advent Children)

This is a yaoi! Don't like, then don't read!

Main pairing: CloudxReno, Reno, Cloud

Chapter 1: Breaking Down

Degrade: The complete and slow breaking down of the mind and body; to deteriorate.

That about sums it up. Reno let a sigh escape his lips. How the hell did this even happen in the first place, he wondered.

It had started a couple days ago. He had just gotten off of a mission and wanted to celebrate by drowning out those unwanted memories. Just because he was a shinra lapdog and did all of shinra's dirty work, does not mean that he had to like doing it. Getting rid of some of the ex-scientists just happened to be one of those jobs. There had been a recent set of attacks from experimental monsters created by said ex-scientists. So, Reno and Rude found themselves tracking down and permanently shutting down those mad scientists. The mission itself was a success, albeit a little bloody. Afterwards, Reno wanted nothing more than to down those memories in booze.

A little past three in the morning found him stumbling drunkenly down the streets of the Midgar slums. As he was "walking" he heard a small shuffling noise to his left, but he paid it no mind. Probably just a stray cat; the slums were full of them. Unfortunately, this lapse in judgment cost him dearly. The next moment he felt a sharp, searing pain in his head and then he succumbed to darkness.

A groan escaped his lips as he came 'round. Through bleary eyes, he tried to focus where he was. He was strapped down on a lab table. To his left many syringe needles and various utensils glistened on a table next to him. He tried to break from the binds, but to no avail. He heard chuckling and slowly turned to face the source.

There stood a man with long black hair, tied at the base of his neck in a pony tail. Glasses dawned his face, his cold eyes gleamed evilly at him. Finally a lab coat finished the "crazed scientist" look.

Reno gulped. He recognized that face anywhere. But it was impossible! Hojo was dead! He and the Turks let Avalanche kill the sick bastard!

"H-How?"

Hojo smirked. "You didn't honestly think that Hollander was the only one who could clone people did you? That pathetic excuse for a scientist wouldn't know the difference between ancient cells and animal cells!"

"So wha' does this hafta do wit' me, yo?" Reno had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn't really want to know what Hojo planned to do with him.

"Why I thought Turks were smarter than SOLDIER" Hojo sighed. "I plan to do a little experiment with you. Now I know Turks are given a few mako-enhancements when they are inducted, though not as much mako-enhancements as SOLDIER. Therefore, I will need to give you more in order for you, my subject, to survive my theories."

He knew it. Though knowing that he was indeed going to be tested on did nothing to ease his inner turmoil. If anything, it made him struggle even harder against his restraints. All efforts proved futile, and he finally slumped down.

Watching this made Hojo laugh. It was a harsh sound in the still quiet room.

"Now my test subject, this will hurt, so just sit back and enjoy." The twisted smile returned to Hojo's face.

Reno glared at him with disgust.

He tried to lean as far away from the needles as he could.

Hojo tsked at his attempts and swiftly injected him with three syringes full of mako.

Reno screamed as he felt the mako burning through his veins. The pain intensified. A light sweat started to break on his forehead.

He felt his vision turning dark. He was going to pass out into blissful darkness. A sharp stabbing pain on his face snapped him back to focus. He stared up at Hojo hatefully.

"I can't have you falling asleep on me. You need to stay conscious while I perform my theories."

It was at that point that Reno steeled himself for more pain. He knew how to handle torture; Tseng made all the Turks resistant to torture by building up a tolerance for pain. This was to prevent any Turks, who were captured, from giving up information.

He wouldn't make another sound; he refused to give Hojo the satisfaction.

He lost track of time. It felt like years, but could only be hours or days. He was poked, prodded, and cut up by Hojo's sick fantasy. A few times Hojo would quit in order to eat or to rest for the night, in which Reno was able to allow himself a few precious hours of sleep.

Hojo would then commence his work.

Obviously Reno's lack of presence would alert the other Turks. Reno just hoped they'd arrive in time.

All the while Hojo would ramble about a "project G" and how it was inferior to his Sephiroth project. Although both projects failed, supposedly Hojo was trying to improve his project a bit. He was trying to create a better more perfect "Sephiroth" for lack of a better word. His attempts with Zack and Cloud had failed, as well as the three remnants. Hojo was positive he isolated the defect and he wanted to test it out on Reno.

Hojo wasn't finished with Cloud. He would get his perfect SOLDIER! His plan was to create to solution that isolated the defect and destroyed it in Cloud. He knew he wouldn't be able to capture Cloud, so this was the next best thing. He would inject the solution in Reno and also purposefully cause Reno to start to degrade. Cloud, the sole survivor of this project and the only one who hadn't degraded had the cure for Reno's degradation inside of him.

Hojo told Reno that he was degrading and that his only chance of canceling the degradation effect was to consummate with Cloud.

Reno also knowing that by saving his own life, he would be condemning the world to death. Bringing about another Sephiroth -a perfect Sephiroth- would ensure that.

However there was a slight chance that even if he and Cloud were to mate, that Hojo's solution would fail. The guy IS crazy afterall!

When Hojo was just finishing up his 4th day of work, Tseng, Rude and Elena had busted into the room. Their reactions were delayed a bit at seeing Hojo alive in front of them. Tseng was the first one to snap out of it and quickly fired at the already retreating form of Hojo. One shot and he was down, but Reno wasn't fooled. He knew that Hojo had just been a clone. The real slime-ball was hiding out safe and far away from this abandoned warehouse. Rude quickly untied his partner and picked him up. They did a quick survey of the room before leaving. Tseng would come back later to investigate what the scientist was doing.

Reno knew that as soon as he was bandaged up, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. For now though, he'd just let his family take him home, and with that last thought, he allowed himself to succumb to sleep.

A/N: well what d'ya think? Like it? Hate it? Please review! T.T pwease?


	2. Chapter 2: Explanations

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue!

Thank you all for the reviews! I feel so loved. I didn't know if it would be any good because it was just a half-assed plot bunny.

Chapter 2: Explanations

Reno was shaken awake a couple hours after being rescued. He was in Rufus' office along with the other Turks.

"Reno I know that this experience must be hard for you, and I know you still need rest to recover, but I need your report. What happened when you were captured?"

Reno shivered. He didn't want to remember it. Nevertheless, he needed to inform his boss of the procedures done to him. With a heavy sigh, Reno began to recall everything.

Reno was back in Hojo's lab. Hojo had just finished pushing the last syringe of mako into his vein before the real "fun," as Hojo put it, began. Because it was easy to overdose on mako and get mako poisoning, it had taken Hojo two whole days to put all of it in, without risking killing his test subject.

Once the mako was completely in his system, Hojo began his work. Hojo took up a small knife. He would need samples of Reno's body to test out the serum on Reno's cells. Reno grunted in pain as he felt the knife cut into him. Hojo, loving the look of pain, decided to cut deeper than necessary. Reno bit his bottom lip til it bled to stifle his cry of pain.

Hojo was kind of sad that he couldn't just experiment with this specimen. Oh well, he could always grab someone else on the streets.

He spent the rest of the third day testing on the skin and blood samples with the solution. While he experimented on these samples, he sent a glass dome over the table that Reno was strapped down to. When the dome had completely settled, Hojo flipped a switch which shot a beam of light over Reno's body. Intense pain flared throughout him as each and every cell of his body was pushed passed its maximum limit. Every person has a limit in strength, speed, etc. When Hojo worked for Shinra, Hojo created this beam to allow SOLDIERs to reach their maximum limit. Now, he was using the same beam to push Reno passed his limit, thus causing his body's degradation. He would wait the rest of the third day to see how the serum would take place. On the morning of the fourth day, the results came back positive on all the tests. He was a genius! He was the world's smartest man. He laughed maniacally to himself.

He smirked at Reno as he slowly took out the serum. He unscrewed to lid and forced it down Reno's throat. He was burning! The liquid made a trail all the way down. He felt like he had swallowed acid! His whole insides jerked in an attempt to get rid of the poison. He could feel every individual muscle ache in protest to the serum.

"….and that about sums up what Hojo was doing to me" Reno finished, his eyes not leaving the floor. What interesting floor patterns. Yep!

After recounting his story, Rufus had asked Reno what he planned to do about his situation. If it were up to Rufus, he'd tie Reno and Cloud up and throw them in a room together until the deed was done. Rufus may have been a cold-hearted bastard, but he still cared about his Turks, his family. He didn't want another Sephiroth roaming around, but he didn't want a dead Reno either. He couldn't risk either option, so that left plan C, which was to try and create a cure for the degradation process.

Reno refused to have sex with Cloud, despite the others' begging. Still, Reno stood by his answer. When asked why, he would respond, "I might be a Turk an'all, but I've still got my own honor codes, yo. To force someone to have a relationship with me when he might wanna be with someone else is low even for me, yo." And he left it at that.

Rufus was not happy, not happy at all. One of his Turks, his family, was captured and experimented on. He and the Turks had enlisted the help of Reeve Tuesti to track down Reno's whereabouts.

It took four days to find a location. What pissed Rufus off the most was that said location was right under their noses, literally. The abandoned warehouse was located in the slums which were shadowed by the plates on which the Shinra Corporation loomed.

Rufus still had Reeve looking into Hojo's possible hideout so he personally could kick his ass, then give Hojo the longest and most painful death he could think of. Just thinking of all the possible methods of torture brought a smile to the Shinra heir's face. Others who passed by the president would shudder in fear at the smirk.

As of the moment Reno was brought back, Rufus had forbid him from any more field assignments. So, that left Reno with paper work, which he'd just leave for Rude to do for him, meaning a lot of free time.

Reno was BORED! It took about a week before Reno actually broke down and started to actually DO his paper work. (GASP!)

He was on a tight leash. Rufus claimed it was because he wanted to monitor Reno for signs of the degradation, but Reno thought he actually did it to annoy the PLANET outta him. For Gaia's sake he wasn't a civilian, he knew how to take care of himself!

At least one of his dysfunctional family was with him at all times to keep an eye on him.

He sighed once more in irritation as he felt Tseng's presence behind him. He had decided to make the most of his 'babysitters' by turning it into a game: if he felt the presence of one of the Turks, he would try to lose 'em amongst the crowd of people. He even dressed out of uniform in a poor attempt at throwing Tseng off his trail.

He ducked into the entrance of the first bar he saw. It wasn't until he entered did he realize his mistake. He had entered the Seventh Heaven.

Tifa stared up with a smile to greet the new customer when her eyes landed on Reno. Her smile faltered when she noticed that he was alone, but a moment later she was beaming at said Turk.

As of late, Tifa had come to terms for her feelings for Cloud. She realized he didn't feel the same for her as she did for him. After time, she realized that she actually only loved him as a sister would her brother. It was only after she let Cloud go that she had started to notice Rude's affections for her.

About a month after the defeat of the remnants, she and Rude had started to date.

Reno shrugged and went up to the bar.

"Gimme somthing strong Tif'."

She sighed, but poured him a glass (not a shot, a glass!) of whiskey nonetheless.

He downed it in two gulps.

She tutted in disapproval, which quickly turned into concern when she looked at his face.

His face was serious, bordering on grave. He seemed to be lost in thought, which is never a good thing she thought.

She asked aloud, "Reno…"

"Hm?" he glanced up at her.

"…are you…alright?"

Reno smirked, "are ya worried 'bout lil ol' me?"

Her frown deepened, which mercifully Reno noticed and his smirk vanished without a trace as if it were never there to begin with.

More seriously he responded, "m'fine, yo. Don' worry 'bout't."

Her concern grew but she didn't voice it.

"Where's Rude? How…how was the mission?"

"Hm? Wha' mission, yo?"

"Don't play games with me, Reno, Rude had to cancel our date because of an emergency mission five days ago. He told me that all of the Turks had to drop whatever other mission they had to direct it towards this emergency. Since you're here, and you're his partner, then that means that he should be here too."

Reno stayed silent. This worried Tifa even more. What could have possibly happened? Just as she was about to voice her concerns and ask what happened, she heard the tinkling of the bell announcing another customer. The noise brought her eyes towards the door. Cloud had returned from another delivery.

Tifa smiled warmly at him before approaching the blond.

"Cloud," Tifa said, "I'm a bit worried about Reno. I think something happened to him on his last mission. Remember last week when I had that date with Rude scheduled? Well he had to cancel it, said it was because of an emergency mission he had. He was gone for four days and when I tried to pry information out of Reno, he fell silent! When does he EVER stop talking, Cloud? I'm beginning to get worried. Do you think it's something to do with Rude or something else?"

Cloud pondered over what Tifa had said, but didn't know what to say to her. His relationship with the Turks was a bit rockier than Tifa's. He didn't hate them, but that didn't make them his friends either.

Cloud, realizing that Tifa was waiting for a response, told her with a shrug that he didn't have any answer for her.

With a sigh, Tifa headed back to the bar.

Two hours passed with Reno still sitting in his seat, completely smashed.

"giv'me 'nothr one Tif'." Reno slurred.

"I think you've had enough" Tifa now thoroughly concerned stated to the obviously intoxicated redhead.

"no' hav'nt giv'm'nothr!" He held up the empty glass, expecting it to be filled. He glared up at her through bleary eyes when she refused.

"'ve go'th'gil, now gve'ma drin'!"

"Reno, is something wrong? Is Rude ok? I haven't seen or heard from him since five days ago."

" 's fine, now give'ma drin'!" He was getting angry. Why wouldn't she give him his damn drink!

"Reno, I don't think you should have anymore. What if you get alcohol poisoning?" Tifa replied. She was relieved that Rude was alright, but this meant that something else was wrong.

"an' wot'f I wan'tha'?"

"What?!" Tifa cried. "You can't be serious, Reno. His response only confirmed that something had happened.

Reno shrugged in reply.

Fortunately Cloud had overheard the last part of their conversation when he descended the stairs to talk to Tifa about his schedule for the next day.

Cloud decided that it was time to help Tifa out. So, he pulled Reno out of his seat. Reno stumbled, and grabbed onto Cloud for balance, all the while glaring up at him.

"Wha's th'deal yo?"

"Reno you're drunk" Cloud reasoned.

"So?"

"So, you're not drinking anymore. I'll call Rufus and tell him you're staying the night." Cloud replied.

"Don' need yer'elp!"

"I wasn't offering for YOUR sake, I was worried about all those civilians outside that might die if you tried to drive back." Cloud hissed.

He then proceeded to drag Reno upstairs to his room.

Cloud shoved some clothes into reno's hands.

"You reek of booze. Take a bath first then get changed. While you get cleaned up, I'll call your boss." With that, Cloud shoved Reno into the bathroom. Cloud sighed and rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long night. He could already feel the oncoming headache that the loud redhead always brought forth in him.

Reno could feel the effects of the alcohol already leaving him. Damn mako injections! They make it damn near impossible for one to get drunk! How the hell did Strife ever manage to do it?

Reno did as he was told for once. Half an hour later, he was scrubbed clean and dressed in Cloud's clothes. Although he was taller than Cloud by an inch, the clothes still hung loose on his thin frame. He'd always been a bit underweight. It was one of the signs of poor nutrition from living in the Slums for most of his life. Despite the amount of money he received from work, he never really bothered to use it to buy much food. He didn't see the point. Why buy food, when there's alcohol?

He came back into Cloud's room.

"So, what's wrong?"

"Wha' d'ya mean, yo?"

"You've been acting strange since you got here and you've had more mako injected in you." Cloud motioned towards Reno's eyes as explanation. "So, what happened?"

Reno was startled. "How'd ya know?"

Cloud shrugged, "Your eyes are glowing more vibrantly than normal."

Reno nodded at the plausible answer before replying solemnly, "d'ya really wanna know?"

Cloud thought about it for a moment. Did he really care enough to know? Curious as to what would make the fiery redhead act this way, he finally responded, "yes."

Reno thought about whether or not he should tell Strife. He didn't know why he wanted to tell Cloud, but he wanted to. In the end, he decided to tell Cloud the abridged version, though only if he swore not to tell anybody. This version consisted of Hojo, clones, and Reno's degredation. He also told Cloud that he needed a specific person to have sex with in order to stop it. Reno failed to mention who though.

Cloud stiffened as Hojo was mentioned, however, he let the redhead continue his story without interruptions.

When Reno was finished with his story, Cloud pondered over the new and alarming information before replying carefully, "Do you know who this specific person is?"

Reno nodded his affirmation.

"Then why don't you do it with her."

"Him" Reno corrected. "An' 'sides, I can't. Just 'cause I'm a Turk, it doesn't mean I don't have any morals. I'm not about to force myself on to someone just because I don't wanna die, yo. That wouldn't be fair to 'im."

Cloud couldn't believe it, Reno had morals? He now looked at Reno in a new light. He nodded at Reno. It was a solemn gesture to show he understood and that he even held a little bit more respect for the redhead.

Noticing Reno's yawn, Cloud looked at the alarm clock on his bedside desk and swore. Was it really that late?

Cloud gestured to the ground. There were spare blankets and some pillows lying on the floor arranged into a makeshift bed for the exhausted Turk. Just because Cloud had a little respect for the Turk didn't mean that he'd offer him his bed!

Reno removed the outer layer of covers and hopped in, then pulled the covers back over himself.

Soon they drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Well, it's a little bit longer than the first chapter.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: Of Nightmares and the Morning

Disclaimer: I don't own, so please don't sue me!

Chapter 3: Of Nightmares and the Morning After

Cloud awoke suddenly. It took him a moment to figure out what woke him up in the first place. After a moment of silence he heard it. He turned to the figure huddled on his floor. Reno was making soft whimpering noises.

Sighing, Cloud got out of bed and went over to the Turk. Reno had a thin layer of sweat running down his face. Cloud moved to sit down next to him and tried to wake the redhead from his nightmare.

Reno's dream:

Reno was strapped down on the table in Hojo's lab. He was not being poked with syringes and pumped full of mako, so it must have been the third day. Was his rescue all a wishful dream? He suddenly felt the stabbing pain of a knife as Hojo cut him up. He fell in and out of awareness. Each incision brought him back to sharp focus, only for him to fall once again into fuzzy numbness.

He looked up at his captor when he stopped cutting into him. His eyes widened as he noticed a dome slowly descending from the ceiling and onto him. He knew what was coming next: the blinding flash of light and then that horrible, unbearable pain. His body quivered in anticipation. Helplessness descended upon him just as the dome completely encased him inside. He saw the flash of light a moment later, just as he knew he would. He braced himself for the impact…

The whole lab then started to shake. Wait! That doesn't happen next!

"Reno."

The voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Reno!"

The shaking became more violent.

Reno squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered slightly.

"…Reno…wake up…" The voice sounded more gentle.

End of dream sequence:

He snapped his eyes open to stare into mako-enhanced blue eyes.

For a moment he didn't know were he was. Panic consumed him. Was it all a dream? Was he still Hojo's prisoner?

Cloud's voice broke through his panic-filled mind.

"It's ok Reno, it was just a nightmare." Cloud was leaning over the Turk as he spoke. He then grabbed the redhead and hugged him, which surprised himself just as much as it did Reno.

Cloud began to rub soothing circles into Reno's back.

Reno finally calmed down a bit before awkwardly pulling out of Cloud's grip.

An awkward silence permeated the room before Reno finally spoke.

"Sorry about that, Strife. M'fine now, yo." Reno's eyes wouldn't meet Cloud's.

Cloud shrugged it off. "Feel like talking about it?"

Reno shook his head. "Since when d'you care about me?"

Cloud sighed. "I don't hate the Turks anymore. We're more or less allies. So, I guess I do care." Cloud wasn't about to voice that Reno looked very vulnerable at that moment; he didn't have a death wish.

It was Reno's turn to sigh. He didn't want to think about it. That was the whole point in getting drunk, to forget about such things. He shook his head.

"Don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, if you change your mind…or if you need to talk to someone later on, I'm here for you."

"Why?" Reno was stunned. Why would Strife do that for him anyways?

"I know what it's like to be experimented on. We've got common ground. I'll also inform the rest of Avalanche that Hojo's still alive."

"…Thanks, yo…I'll think about your offer."

Luckily for Reno, Cloud dropped the subject after that.

Reno couldn't get back to sleep. No surprise there. So, fully awake he decided it was time to leave.

Cloud was also awake. He heard Reno shuffling around.

"You're leaving?" Cloud mumbled.

"Yea. Figured I should go before the others get up."

"Why? Denzel and Marlene already like you because you play with them all the time and Tifa doesn't mind you. Have some breakfast with us."

Reno thought about the offer. He shrugged. "Why not?"

Cloud handed Reno some clothes to change into. "You can return them later."

Reno nodded his thanks before ripping off the clothes he was wearing and putting on the fresh clean clothes. Cloud rolled his eyes before changing as well.

Ten minutes later found Reno and Cloud downstairs arguing.

"Lemme make it. It's the least I can do for all of ya."

"No, you're our guest, let me make it."

"Screw that, yo!" With that said, Reno grabbed the spatula out of Cloud's hand and began getting the ingredients for breakfast.

"Can you even cook?" Cloud asked skeptically.

Reno smirked in response. "'course I can. Had to learn to fend for myself." He twirled the spatula expertly in his hand as he said this.

Cloud sighed in defeat.

After Cloud lost the fight over who was making breakfast, he settled for setting the table complete with syrup, sugar, butter, whip cream, jam, milk, and orange juice.

Fifteen minutes later, Denzel and Marlene thundered down the stairs.

"What's for breakfast, Cloud? It smells good." Denzel walked around the corner into the kitchen to stare at Reno.

"Reno? When did you get here?" Denzel asked.

"Last night, yo." Reno answered while focusing on the pancakes.

Marlene had just arrived and stared at Reno as well until she bumped into Denzel. She apologized to the boy before turning to Reno.

"Good morning Mr. Reno" she greeted him politely.

"Good morn'n to you too." Reno flipped the last pancake before setting it on the table along with bacon, eggs, biscuits and some chopped up fruit.

Just as he placed the last plate of food on the table, Tifa walked in.

"Breakfast smells delicious, Cloud."

"I didn't make it, Reno did."

Tifa turned to look at Reno in shock. "I didn't know you could cook."

Reno shrugged. "Try it before ya say I can cook."

They all sat down and filled their plates.

Cloud, the brave soul that he was, took the first bite. He raised an eyebrow. "This is actually really good." He sounded surprised.

Once the food was deemed edible, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene dug in.

"Wow, this really _is_ good" Tifa exclaimed. Both Denzel and Marlene nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Reno smiled at the compliments before nibbling on his eggs.

Cloud looked over at him. "Is that all you're eating?"

Reno nodded. "Yea, not much've a morning person. I don't really eat breakfast."

Tifa frowned. She had noticed that the redhead looked a little thinner than a week ago. "Reno, when was the last time you ate?"

Reno paused for a moment to think about the answer. He shrugged. He thought about the scraps Hojo had given him. 'I think the day before yesterday' didn't sound like a good answer to give the looming barmaid. Reno shrugged, "I ate last night before coming over here."

Tifa stared at Reno's thin frame in disbelief. "Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me?" She looked at him disapprovingly.

Reno winced and looked down at his plate and continued to move around the items on it.

"Eat some more." Tifa urged.

Reno refused. "M'fine, yo. Not really that hungry."

Tifa didn't believe him and kept urging him. When he kept refusing, she took it upon herself to pile some pancakes and more eggs onto his nearly bare plate.

He whined in protest but the barmaid was stubborn. He looked at Cloud silently begging him to help. Cloud successfully avoided his look, dutifully eating his meal. Reno glared at him, mouthing 'traitor.' He looked back up at Tifa.

"I'm not gonna finish it…" Reno argued in protest.

"Yes you will" Tifa threatened back.

Reno huffed indignantly before turning to Denzel. "Is she always like this?"

Cloud, Denzel and Marlene all nodded. Reno sighed and continued to pick at his food, all the while Tifa was glaring across the table at him.

A ringing broke the tense silence. Cloud grabbed his phone and looked at the caller id before handing it to Reno.

"Yo?"

"Reno, I'm sending Tseng to come get you, just wait there."

"Sir, I can just go there now. No need to be sending anyone here."

Rufus rubbed his head as he heard the irritation in Reno's voice.

"Just do as I say" Rufus snapped before hanging up. He didn't need an argument so early in the morning.

Reno blinked as the phone line disconnected before handing it back to Cloud. It looked like his boss was in a foul mood this morning. Reno decided it was best not to get on his boss's bad side today.

"Tseng'll be here soon" was his answer to the unasked question in Cloud's eyes.

Cloud nodded in understanding, but Tifa wasn't so happy about the matter.

"You better finish that plate before Tseng gets here Reno, or so help me, I won't give you any alcohol."

Reno gaped at her. "Slave driver" he mumbled.

"What was that?" Tifa barked.

"Nothing." Reno blinked at her innocently. He then focused his attention back on his plate and continued to poke at his food. Finally, he took another bite of pancake and egg. There was no way he'd be able to finish all that food on his plate before Tseng arrived. He bet Tifa knew this too.

"…S'not fair." Reno complained. "Ya know I can't finish all of this before Tseng gets here."

"Fine, then finish most of it before he arrives and I might let you have your alcohol later."

Just as she said this, there was a knock on the door. Cloud got up to let Tseng in.

Tseng stood in the doorway and nodded to Cloud before looking pointedly at Reno. Reno got up and immediately rushed to Tseng, much to Tifa's protesting.

"Tseng, can't you let him finish his breakfast?" Tifa begged.

Reno sent pleading eyes towards Tseng, silently imploring him to say 'no'.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Tseng smiled innocently at Reno.

Reno glared daggers at the Wutaian. "Evil." He muttered darkly as he sat back down.

Tifa smirked triumphantly as he did so.

Oh, Reno would get back at them! He decided to make breakfast as long as he could just to spite them.

Tseng seemed to know Reno's plan and threatened, "If you don't hurry, I'll stuff it down your throat."

Reno glared up at him, before pouting.

Cloud also seemed to know what Reno's plan was before shaking his head. 'Childish,' he smiled at the thought as he looked at Reno's sullen, pouting face. He almost laughed, but didn't. Cloud Strife didn't laugh!

Reno took a few more measly bites before setting his utensil down. "M'done yo."

"No you're not" Tifa said while glancing at his still full plate.

Nonetheless, Reno got up and walked over to Tseng. "Let's go," Reno groused out. He stared pointedly at Tseng, as if daring him to say otherwise.

Together the Turks left.

Tifa sighed before steeling herself. She would make that stubborn man eat! She'd get Rude to help her too! She smiled to herself.

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Please review!


	4. Chapter 4: The Mission

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue!

I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to update. I had computer problems and no money to fix said problems. Regardless, with no transportation (meaning couldn't work on this somewhere else) and no way to even get on a working computer makes it near impossible to work on fics! Luckily since I know I am electronically challenged, I save everything on a usb drive, so if computer crashes, I don't lose my works! (You see I had a fic that I was working on once and my comp crashed and I lost everything! So, I learned from that mistake long ago!)

Chapter 4: The Mission

After leaving the Seventh Heaven, Reno felt a shiver of dread down his spine. He shrugged it off and looked over to Tseng.

"So, what does the boss want?"

"There's a new mission. We'll be briefed on it in an hour." Tseng replied.

"Finally, I'm tired of boring paper work, yo!" Reno exclaimed excitedly. "Anything but more paper work."

He was answered with silence.

They reached the Shinra building shortly after.

When they walked into the meeting room, Tseng headed to the front of the room. All eyes shifted to meet Tseng's gaze.

"As you know, we have been investigating labs recently due to the uprising of ex-scientists from Shinra." Many nods of confirmation were made. Tseng took this as incentive to continue. "Well, we've managed to catch and persuade one of the scientists. He's told us that one man has been hiring the ex-shinra scientists to conduct experiments using mako and people to use as test subjects." Reno, and many others, didn't like where this was heading. "This man's name is Homer Jones." Reno blinked. Homer Jones? Who the hell was that! Tseng continued. "We are to find out where this man is and stop him. Homer Jones is likely just his alias name to throw anyone after him off of his trail."

Many of the Turks started to murmur about this new nut-job. Reno was just thinking on the name. Why did that name give him shivers? He was sure he'd never heard of that name before, so why did it send warning signals to his brain? While he was pondering silently to himself, Tseng was devising a course of action to effectively locate this man.

"…and remember to keep a low profile. I can't stress this enough but-" Tseng was cut off when he heard Reno cursing. Tseng massaged his head. He could already feel that migraine coming. "If you disagree with the pairings, that's too bad, Reno."

"That's not the problem, yo. The man that we're tracking…Homer Jones-"

"Yes, what about him?" Tseng inquired impatiently.

"Take the first two letters from his first and last name." Reno shot back.

Tseng paused for a moment. Ho…jo?

"That may be a possibility, but it could also be someone else, Reno." Tseng knew how jumpy Reno was on topics concerning Hojo and mad scientists at the moment. Hell, he could just be seeing signs that weren't really there. Or he could be right. "Either way, it would be best to be prepared." He concluded out loud. "The partners will be…Cissnei and Rod, and finally Rude and Elena."

"Hey what about me?" Reno shouted indignantly.

"You will be researching all of the possible locations in Midgar that our target could be hiding."

Reno squawked. Paperwork? Reno growled. "You can't be serious yo! I need to go on this mission."

"You are. Finding all possible locations and hideouts is a serious part of this mission." Tseng voiced pointedly.

" Don't give me that bull! I-"

"You'll do as you're told or you're off this mission and any further missions for the next month."

Reno clamped his mouth shut, glaring at the leader of the Turks. He fumed silently.

Tseng took Reno's silence as an opportunity to cast his gaze across the room. "Are there any other problems with my regrouping?"

Nobody responded.

"Good. Now get to work."

With those final words, everyone bolted from their seats to get ready for the mission.

Reno was the last to rise from his seat. He strode to his desk and sat down in it. When the he was sure no one else was nearby, he opened his window and climbed out. After all, the best way to discover hideouts is by going around looking for them. Perfect excuse! Reno knew that if he was caught he'd be in huge trouble, but he just had to get out.

A couple hours later, Reno found himself wandering around the 5th Sector. He was doing his job! Honest! He even had a pen and paper to write down all the possible areas with old factories, abandoned buildings, and other possible hideouts. Sure he could have just looked at a map and pinpointed out these same buildings, but that was too boring.

What time was it? Three hours had passed since the mission briefing. When did Tseng say that they'd meet back at the base to go over the gathered information? He tried to remember. They had to regroup at 4 pm. It was 3. Good he'd have a little bit more time. He decided to send Cloud's clothes to a dry cleaning service and arrange to pick it up later. With that in mind, he decided to head over to Sector Five.

Reno had to squint to write down yet another possible location. When did it get so dark? Reno glanced down at his watch. 3 pm. Wait…3? "Shit!" Reno cursed. His watch was broken. What time was it? Reno knew he was in deep shit when he got back. He just hoped Tseng wasn't going to be too harsh…Reno winced as he imagined what would happen. He dashed quickly back to Sector 5. He could cut through the Church to get to base faster. No sooner did he enter the 5th Sector area then he collided with a solid mass and stumbled backwards.

"Watch where ya goin" Reno groused out before glancing upward. He was met with glowing mako-enhanced eyes. He blinked. "Cloud? What're ya doing here?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I was in Aerith's Church. I was paying my respects when I got a call from Tseng asking me to look for you. He didn't sound too happy either."

Reno paled. "Tseng's gonna have my ass" Reno groaned in despair.

"You can call him with my phone" Cloud offered.

Reno nodded and took the phone. "Hey boss…yea yea, I'm on my way now." Reno hung up before Tseng's screams could break his ear drums. He then turned to Cloud. "Thanks. I'm heading back now." He handed Cloud his phone back and turned to leave when Cloud grabbed his left arm. Reno stared at him questionably.

"I'll go with you. I need to talk to Tseng anyway." Cloud lied. In truth, Cloud was worried for the redhead, though he'd never admit it aloud.

Reno just shrugged. Maybe Cloud would distract Tseng long enough for him to get off the hook.

They trekked in companionable silence back to the Shinra building. As they neared, Tseng's presence loomed up ahead.

Reno began to sweat. 'I'm in deep shit.'

As they approached Tseng, he glanced at Cloud coolly. "Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud nodded back. "Tseng I need to talk to you about the growing numbers of revolts from ex-Shinra scientists."

Tseng's expression turned serious. "I'm assuming Reeve filled you in about the other missing people."

Cloud nodded. "Yes. It is very suspicious. Vincent is searching for the possible whereabouts of the ex-Shinra scientists and Ho-…their leader."

Tseng kept his eyes locked on Cloud's. "Understood. Am I to also assume that Avalanche will be aiding Neo-Shinra in this problem? Afterall, it may well be a serious threat to the PLANET."

Cloud simply replied. "Yes. You have Avalanche's support in this." With that said, Cloud decided to leave before things got ugly. Now that he reported what needed to be said, Tseng would probably give Reno the lecture of the century. He didn't need to be dragged into a fight.

Reno looked at Cloud's retreating back in despair. He turned to face Tseng, apprehension clear on his face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Tseng exploded. "You completely disregarded protocol, and nearly had this mission suspended! Explain. NOW."

"Well, you see boss…" beads of nervous sweat fell down Reno's face. "…You said that I needed to map out possible locations…and I did…I went…to…the Sectors to find them." Reno finished in a whisper.

"You know perfectly well that you were to stay IN the building and use the maps we have HERE to find those locations" Tseng seethed. "Dammit Reno!" Tseng seemed to have lost the ability to form words, he was so pissed.

"What did you expect? You said that we'd have a mission, meaning no paperwork, then you go and dump it on me. You expect me to just take it? I've been doing nothing but paperwork since I got back!" Reno's own temper flared up. He was sick and tired of being babysat. He was sick and tired of being treated as if he were made of glass. He was a Turk dammit! He didn't need body guards, he was one!

Tseng rubbed his temples furiously. "YES! When I give an order, I expect it to be followed PROPERLY." Tseng sighed and said in a gentler tone, "I know that you're frustrated Reno, but we don't want that sick bastard to get you again. You, Rude, Elena and Rufus are like family to me, and I'm sure that you feel the same way. If it were one of us, you'd want our safety too."

Reno was still furious, but he couldn't argue with Tseng's reasoning. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't be angry about it.

"I know." He ground out. He was irritated but he knew when to give up. He couldn't win this argument. Reno felt a little guilty for throwing off the mission too. "…What's the status on the mission?"

"It's still in phase one. We've had to put it in stasis, but now that you've been located, we can continue."

Reno nodded. "Oh, I've got the possible locations that you asked for." Reno laid out his notes.

Tseng took the papers that Reno had written all the possible locations. Tseng squint his eyes trying to discern Reno's messy scrawling. He raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "I know you can write better than this…" He continued to decipher the letters.

Reno rubbed his head in embarrassment. " Sorry 'bout that, yo…was in a hurry an' all."

Tseng nodded and turned his eyes back towards Reno. "I'll further split up our Turks to

check on these locations. You're dismissed." After he was done, his face softened up a bit. "Please don't drink the bars out of all their alcohol. In fact, you should just go home and have a nice quiet evening."

Reno shook his head. "I'll head out to the Seventh Heaven. I have to return his clothes anyway."

"I guess I can't dissuade you from drinking yourself into your grave then" Tseng sighed.

"Nope!" Reno smirked for a second before his expression turned serious. "Besides, I'm gonna die anyway, might as well do it on my terms."

Reno paused for a moment as an awkward silence descended on them. He turned and sort of briskly walked out the door. He wasn't running! Riiight.

A/N: I know I'm ending kind of short, sorry!

Please R/R!


	5. Chapter 5: Sleepovers

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue!

I dedicate this chapter to my lao-tong's birthday which was on the 19th of November. As well as my lao-tong's cousin who died on November 13th and a friend's mom who died of cancer in August, and my departed grandfather who died in January. May you all rest in peace!

Chapter 5: Sleepovers

Before he could go to the Seventh Heaven, he needed to pick up Cloud's clothes in Sector Five. After he had the clothes, Reno quickly walked through the Sectors until the lovely sight of the Seventh Heaven came into view. He physically relaxed and strode the last few blocks at a slow pace. He had Strife's clothes nicely packed in a back slung around his left arm. Just because he chose to never wear a tie for work did not mean that he was generally messy! He just liked to grate on Tseng's nerves.

Reno took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before walking into the bar. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on spiky blond locks. He grinned and walked over to the blond hero. Said blond was serving drinks to a table on the other side of the bar. One of Tifa's workers had called in sick on short notice, and since she couldn't find anyone else to replace the worker's shift, Cloud had ended up filling in. Luckily, the worker's shift was nearly over, just another ten minutes until freedom!

Reno padded over to Cloud. "Yo, Strife."

Startled, Cloud whirled around blue met blue-green eyes. Cloud blinked. "Reno?"

Reno smirked and handed Cloud the bag. "Here. Thanks for letting me borrow them."

Cloud took the bag and smiled wryly at the redhead. "You came all the way over here just to give these back?"

"No, I also came here to get my drink." Reno responded back cheekily.

"Well then, what would you like?" Cloud inquired. He personally didn't agree with the idea of getting smashed, but he was on the clock and Reno was a paying customer.

"Vodka. Hundred proof." Reno replied before sitting down at a small table near the back.

Cloud sighed before going to get the redhead his drink.

"Hey Tifa, I need a shot glass and a bottle of vodka, hundred proof."

Tifa smiled at Cloud as he came over to give his order. As she was getting him the requested items, she asked, "Who would want something so strong this early?"

Cloud looked at her. "Who else? Reno."

There was a glint in her eyes. She bent down and retrieved the bottle of vodka from below the counter and handed it to Cloud. "Here."

Cloud nodded his thanks and went to give Reno his drink.

Reno took the offered bottle, and ignoring the shot glass, began to drink straight from the bottle. His eyes widened and he choked.

"What the hell, yo?" Reno spluttered angrily.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Reno just offered the drink towards Cloud.

Cloud shook his head. "I don't really drink."

"Just try it."

Sighing, Cloud took the drink and hesitantly took a swig. His confusing vanished as he spluttered on the drink. "Does vodka always taste this bad?"

"That's not vodka, Strife. It's carbonated water!" Reno spat in disgust.

"But I told Tifa that you ordered vodka." Cloud defended.

"Did you just say Tifa gave you that?" Reno fumed. Why that no good bitch!

"Ye-yes."

Reno stood up and stalked over to the front of the bar where he met with a smug looking barmaid, while a confused blond followed him.

"What'd ya do that for Tifa?"

"You know perfectly well why I did that." Tifa shot back. "You didn't finish breakfast. You think you won that fight, but you didn't!" She smirked triumphantly. "Now, if you want any alcohol tonight, you have to eat dinner first."

Reno smirked at her. "Well, then give me my real order, I've already eaten dinner."

"Oh, is that so? What did you eat then?"

"I had Wutaian take-out."

"Oh really. According to Rude you skipped not only dinner, but also lunch too."

"And how would he know? He wasn't with me today."

"He sent one of Reeve's toys to spy on you. You didn't eat." Tifa smirked.

Reno fumed. "Fine. Whatever. I'll just get my drinks from a different bar." He turned to leave, but Cloud grabbed him.

"I'm sorry, but you can't leave." He said apologetically.

"What do ya mean I can't leave?" Reno seethed.

"Tseng called a couple of minutes before you arrived. He said that you were to remain here tonight and that he'd pick you up in the morning" Cloud explained.

"I'm not a kid. I don't hafta listen to him! He's not my boss outside of work."

"I'm sorry, but Rufus backed Tseng up on this. You have to stay here."

Reno was pissed! He couldn't do anything to them now, but he'd get them back later. A little itching powder in Tseng's soap, a little pink hair dye in Rufus' shampoo, a couple of cracked sunglasses for his partner…Yep nothing beats sweet revenge!

Reno deflated slightly. "Fine. Am I sleeping in your room again?"

Cloud nodded.

Reno turned to go up the stairs to Cloud's room when Tifa called out to him. "You ARE eating something."

Reno paused for a moment as she spoke before continuing his trek up the stairs.

"Is he ignoring me?" Tifa fumed.

Cloud wisely chose that as his cue to leave. An angry Tifa was one not to cross paths with. He didn't want her to direct that anger on him; she already had Reno as a target.

By the time Tifa turned around, Cloud was long gone.

Cloud found himself standing just outside his door. He hesitated for a moment. Should he knock? Wait a minute, since when did he care? It was his own room for Gaia's sake! He opened the door and slowly peeked in. Reno stood facing away from the door, staring out the window.

Reno stared dejectedly out the winder. He was so absorbed in his morbid thoughts that he didn't hear Cloud come in.

"I wonder…should I just…no I can't…but I don't want to…but I can't let…" He had opened the winder and started to climb out.

Cloud tried to piece together what Reno was saying when he saw the man open the window, and he started to put his leg out of it. Alarm bells went off in Cloud's head as he dashed towards the redhead.

"No don't!"

Reno turned around just as he was tackled by a blond blur. Reno lay stunned for a few seconds. He stared down into a mop of blond spikes.

"What the hell, Strife?"

Cloud got up and glared at the redhead.

"Suicide is not the answer." (can you guys guess where I got this quote from? n.n)

Reno's scowl vanished and he blinked stupidly at Cloud.

"I know that your situation is grave, but I don't think you should to kill yourself over it. Instead you need to be looking for another cure." Cloud continued.

Reno found his voice.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was going to take a walk to clear my head."

It was Cloud's turn to blink.

"…Oh."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. He pulled himself up and then helped Reno up in turn.

Reno dusted himself off.

"So why would ya think I was trying to off myself Strife?"

Cloud blushed again and averted his eyes as he mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"It's because of what you said when you were drunk yesterday night."

Reno was horrified. He had forgotten all about yesterday. Don't panic, do not panic! He was able to maintain his outward appearance, and looked calm.

"What exactly did I say?

Cloud stared at the redhead. "You told me how you got high doses of mako in your system, Hojo, and your degradation."

Reno sighed. 'Shit.' "Well, you can't really thrive on life when you're in my situation."

Cloud narrowed his eyes.

"I suppose. Though, that's still no reason to give up."

Reno inwardly started to curse. Shitshitshitshitshit!

"You're starting to sound like Tifa."

"Don't change the subject."

Reno winced. He was done dodging around the bushes. His face turned serious.

"Just drop it, Strife" he ground out.

Cloud glared at him.

"No."

"Dammit! Stop being so persistent. It's not your problem. It's mine."

"You're right it's not my body that's breaking down, but that doesn't mean you can't lean on someone for support." Cloud shot back.

"Well, I don't need some golden boy to watch over me! Do you think you can 'save' me or something?" Reno laughed bitterly. "You can't. So forget about it. There's nothing that you and your goody-goody AVALANCHE buddies can do to help me." Reno spat out.

Cloud reached his limit.

"Stop being such a bitch and just tell me. Maybe I can help you." Cloud hissed.

Reno hesitated. "Just please drop it." Reno pleaded. "There's nothing anyone can or would do to help me if they knew."

"Tell me. You don't know if people will or won't help you unless you ask for help." Cloud reasoned.

"Trust me, no one would."

"And how would you know?"

Reno looked pointedly at Cloud.

"Would people help me at the expense of their own lives?"

"What do you mean?"

Reno sighed. He did not want to get into this. He had already told Cloud too much.

"Look, if you really can't tell me, then don't, but if you need to talk to someone, you know where to find me."

Reno turned surprised eyes towards Cloud.

"I know what it's like to have Hojo fuck around with your body, and I know about the shit that it causes." Cloud explained.

Reno paused for a moment. "Thanks."

Cloud shrugged.

Tifa rapped on the door and opened it at that moment.

"It's dinner time" she said pleasantly enough, but the look in her eyes said otherwise when directed at Reno. A spark of challenge shot in his direction. With that, she left.

Reno turned to Cloud. "You go on ahead, I need to wash my hands and face first."

Cloud nodded and quietly padded out.

Reno went into the bathroom and shut the door. He leaned against the sink and exhaled. A sudden pain flared up and he clutched his stomach, doubling over in pain. He could already feel his body breaking down. He bit his bottom lip til it bled to refrain from screaming. He could feel bile fighting its way up his throat. His insides were burning and he broke out in a light sweat.

He whimpered. Slowly the pain subsided to a dull throb. It was still painful, but at least it was endurable. He washed his hands and face. Don't let the pain show! Mask! Reno smiled outwardly. Presentable. Good. Perfect. With that he headed out the door.

Reno came down the stairs and turned into the dining room around the corner. He was greeted by Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene all staring at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Nothing, we were just waiting for you." Denzel and Marlene quickly snapped their eyes to their plates.

Tifa's concerned eyes stayed trained on Reno.

"What's with the look, yo?"

"We just heard some noises…A-are you alright?"

'Shit' Reno mentally cursed.

"Ye-yeah, I uh just lost my balance and stubbed my toe."

"Oh. Well then, your plate is right there." The barmaid pointed to a vacant spot between Cloud and Denzel.

Reno looked at the plate full of food. It smelled delicious, too bad Reno's stomach was in knots. For the second time that night, bile started to rise up his throat. He swallowed convulsively.

"You better finish it." Tifa smiled in satisfaction.

The finality in Tifa's voice made Reno wince.

Maybe he could eat it. Yeah right. He poked his food and started shoving it around on his plate.

"Why aren't you eating Mr. Reno?" Marlene innocently inquired.

"Yeah, why doesn't he have to eat it all?" Denzel piped in.

"Reno, you're setting a bad example for Denzel. Cloud and Denzel barely eat enough as it is. They don't need any prompting that it's alright not to eat sufficiently." Tifa scolded sternly. At the mention of their names, both Cloud and Denzel winced. Denzel looked like he wanted to protest that he did eat enough, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Reno took a couple of deep breathes. He raised a forkful of rice to his mouth. Inserted it. Chewed. Swallowed. See? He could do this. Tentatively, he took another bite. Pause. Still fine. He was about to take a third bite when suddenly, his stomach made its protest. He stood up and made a dash to the bathroom, effectively emptying his already nearly empty stomach into the porcelain goddess. When he was done dry heaving, he placed his head against the cool rim of the toilet seat. Just breathe. Focus on breathing. Slowly he was able to stand up on shaky legs. His hands were clinging to a wall and the sink countertop as he steadied himself. He wiped his mouth with a tissue. When he pulled it away from his mouth, it was flecked with blood. Reno looked into the basin, more blood. Fuck! Reno looked with horrified eyes at the blood.

He threw the dirty tissue into the toilet and flushed it. He washed his hands and face. Great, now what was he going to say to them? He contemplated an excuse as he opened the door to stare at one Cloud Strife.

"What is wrong with you?" Concern edged Cloud's voice.

Reno paled. He stared into Cloud's make blue eyes.

"I don't know what to tell you, Strife. I think the process of my body's breakdown is faster than I originally anticipated, yo."

"How fast is it degrading?" Cloud inquired.

"Enough." Reno put simply.

Cloud didn't keep prodding, but mercifully let the subject drop.

An awkward silence filled the space.

Reno started to fidget.

"So…um…can I skip dinner and go to bed instead? I don't think I can handle eating anything right now." He rubbed his sore stomach for emphasis.

"I'll tell Tifa that you're sick, I'm sure she'll believe me. You go on and rest."

Cloud retreated back downstairs, while Reno slowly walked to Cloud's room. He laid down and tried to go to sleep. He was in so much pain! He felt like someone had used him as a human punching bag. Eventually the pain receded to a bearable level. This left Reno feeling exhausted and weak. The exhaustion took its toll on his weary body and he gratefully welcomed sleep.

It was 7:00pm when Cloud came in to check on Reno. He glanced in at the sleeping form for a moment before softly closing the door. He went back downstairs to an expectant Tifa.

"Well?" She asked the minute Cloud's foot hit the last stair.

"He's sleeping."

Tifa bit her lip. "I didn't know he was sick. I would have made him soup instead. I-"

"He knows it's not your fault." Cloud tried to comfort her.

She nodded in agreement, but she couldn't stop fretting.

"Take it easy. I'll do the dishes." Cloud told his childhood friend.

Tifa agreed and decided that she should check on Denzel and Marlene. Maybe keep them company.

Half an hour later, Cloud was sitting at his small desk doing the financial paperwork for his small delivery service.

Cloud glanced up at his clock. It was midnight. Had he really been working for four-and-a-half hours? He decided it was time for bed. Cloud stretched and went up to his room. He glanced briefly at the sleeping man. He might have noticed the light sheen of sweat on Reno's forehead if he wasn't so tired. Even with his eyes burning, he was able to see well enough in the dark. He maneuvered around the Turk to his bed and slid in under the covers. He was soon fast asleep.

Cloud woke up refreshed. No nightmares! His day was already looking up. He glanced down at Reno, still asleep. He shrugged and got up. He stretched and yawned as he did so. He grabbed clean clothes from his dresser drawers; then he made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and hopped into the shower. Tifa made dinner, so he was going to make breakfast.

Squeaky clean, Cloud proceeded to make homemade waffles. It was 9:00am by the time he had finished. Marlene, Denzel, and Tifa came downstairs.

"Mmm. That smells great!" Denzel said.

"Where's Mr. Reno?"

"He's still sleeping." Cloud answered.

"Oh." The little girl looked put out. "Can I go wake him up?" Marlene asked.

"No!" Tifa quickly answered. More calmly she said, "let him rest, he can eat later."

They sat down and ate.

Tifa went to do the dishes. After that, she would take the children to school.

The other Turks would be at the Seventh Heaven soon to pick up their missing member. He locked up. He was sure that the Turks would be able to get into the bar and retrieve Reno. Cloud drove out to an empty expanse of land to train for a little bit.

Cloud let his body fall into a comfortable stance. His body moved fluidly from one strike into another, taking down imaginary enemies. He worked up a light sweat. When he took a break, he sat down to check his phone.

'One missed call' flashed on his screen He checked his voice messages and played the new message.

"Cloud, we are continuing our search. Don't inform Reno."

It was Tseng.

The message continued:

"If at all possible, can you watch him again today? He will also be spending the night. You will be paid for your troubles. Thank you." The message was from three hours ago.

Crap! Reno was alone at the Seventh Heaven. Cloud pocketed his cell phone and raced back to the bar on Fenrir. He got back in record time, put his bike away safely, and then unlocked the door. He dashed up the stairs to his room. He opened the door. Reno was still asleep. Cloud frowned. Reno had been sleeping for about seventeen hours. Cloud gently shook Reno awake.

Reno blinked weary eyes at Cloud.

"Wha?" He mumbled.

"Reno, you've been asleep for a while, are you hungry?"

"No, m'tired." Reno slurred. He turned back to snuggle against his pillow.

"No, you have to get up now." Cloud insisted.

Cloud managed to get the redhead up. He handed Reno some clean clothes and directed him to the bathroom.

Reno dragged himself into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He stared through bleary eyes at his reflection. Dark rings were visible in sharp contrast to his pale skin. If he really slept seventeen hours, then why did it feel like he only slept two? He groaned in protest as he started to peel off his old clothing, his muscles aching in protest. Maybe a hot bath would help him.

Maybe not. Even soaking his aching joints did little to relieve the pain. Later, Reno would learn that the pain wouldn't go away. Neither would the circles.

As the Turk stood up to get out of the tub, a wave of dizziness assaulted him. Reno threw his arms out for balance. As his vision swam, he clutched onto the walls for dear life. Slowly, his vision cleared up. He cautiously released his grip.

Reno dried himself, wrapped his hair in a second towel, and put on the fresh clothes before exiting the bathroom.

Reno glided down the stairs as gracefully as a drunkard.

Cloud had prepared sandwiches. He didn't really know what the Turk would like so he made pb&j's. You can't go wrong with peanut butter and jelly!

Reno stumbled into the dining room just as Cloud sat down.

"Um…what time is it?" Reno suppressed a yawn.

"It's a little after noon. I made sandwiches." Cloud nodded towards the plates. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I made peanut butter and jelly."

"S'fine." Reno sat down and picked up a sandwich. He wasn't really that hungry, but if he didn't eat, Cloud would get even more suspicious. So, the redhead slowly started to nibble on the sandwich. One nibble. Then a couple gulps of water to wash down the rising bile. One more nibble. Several gulps of water. He could do this.

He finished about three-fourths of the pb&j when he put it back on his plate. He carefully stood up to throw away the rest. Growing up in the Slums had taught him never to waste perfectly good food, but he couldn't eat any more.

"Reno…"

"Hm?"

"…about your sickness…well…"

"Spit it out."

"…you've slept seventeen hours and still look tired, you can't keep much food down…and you've recently been injected with an overload of mako…"

"Yeah? What about it, yo?"

Well, do you know how long you have?" The question seemed harsh, even to his own ears. "It's alright…" Cloud fumbled. "You don't have to tell me…"

"I don't know how long I have. I know I have at least a month."

"That's not very long. Are you sure you don't want to find that person. I know you have your morals…" Cloud reassured when the redhead shot him a glare. "…but maybe…"

"No. It would be better if I didn't find that person." Reno looked dejectedly at the floor.

"You can't think so little of yourself."

"That's not the reason."

"Oh." Cloud averted his gaze to his sandwich. He took another bite out of it, and silence resumed.

The silence made Reno squirm. It was one of those awkward silences that drove people nuts.

"So…uh…yeah…can I go back to bed?" Reno sounded hopeful. He was exhausted.

"Sure. Oh, you're staying the night again."

"Tseng tell you that?

Cloud nodded.

"That bastard!" Reno fumed. "I'm a part of this mission, he can't just take me off of it!"

Cloud tried to calm the irate Turk down.

"I'm sure he's not taking you off permanently."

Reno stared at him pointedly. 'You have no idea' Reno thought dully. Aloud he said, "I'll give him hell to pay."

The anger subsided from his face. "I'll get revenge tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Reno made a hasty retreat.

Cloud blinked. Maybe Reno had ADHD or something…talk about a short attention span. Reno jumped from one topic to the next like a hyperactive child on sugar. Sheesh. Their conversation had started out like this: first some small talk, then it became serious, depressing, light, and angry. Cloud washed the few dishes from lunch.

Tifa would be back soon to get her bar ready for the night. Then, Cloud could do his deliveries.

Cloud had a long drive ahead of him. He had to deliver a package to Kalm. It takes an average person eight to ten hours there and another eight to ten hours back. Luckily, Cloud wasn't an average person. It also helped that he knew short cuts, and that his Fenrir was fast! It would take him about seven to eight hours total.

"Cloud? You can leave now, I'm back." Tifa had gone shopping. She had dinner planned out for her family and Reno. Although Cloud wouldn't be able to eat with them, he could reheat it when he returned.

"Where's Reno?" The barmaid's voice was muffled around a couple bags of groceries.

"He's sleeping."

"Still?"

"No, he had lunch, then went back to sleep."

"Oh?" Tifa perked up. "What did he have for lunch?"

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Cloud, he's sick. He should've had soup." Tifa scolded, quickly resuming role of mother hen. "Though, I'm surprised he actually ate. Good job." She praised.

'I don't know what's worse: fickle women or ADHD Turks' Cloud mused.

"Be careful" Tifa urged.

Cloud nodded. "I'll be back later."

"Bye."

Cloud grabbed his package and left out the door.

Tifa put away the groceries.

Reno had closed the door immediately after he entered the room. Cloud had hit a nerve. Tseng was probably cutting him off of this mission as well as any more in the future. Why? The truth was Reno was dying, and there's not a damned thing anyone could do about it.

Reno could already feel his body starting to break down. Even now, as he lay down in bed, he felt pain course through his body. Cloud knew that he was dying, but he didn't fully comprehend the extent of the damage. Cloud knew he couldn't keep very much down, but he didn't know about the constant pain, or the blood.

He really was exhausted. It took a lot of energy to act calm or even happy on the outside, when searing pain stabbed into him like a knife.

He kept looking down. He expected to see blood leaking out of gaping knife wounds, only to see his skin, perfectly unblemished.

Reno knew the poison that Hojo injected him with was slowly killing him from the inside out, but it sure as hell felt like surface wounds. Was it always this painful to die, or was he just lucky?

After fidgeting for a bit, he got up and walked across the room. He stared out the window, forlorn eyes cast downward. His gaze followed the many civilians. Should he leave? Reno bit his lip. Stay here and rot. Leave for a little while.

Choices. Choices. What the hell? He started to climb out the window. Left leg. So far so good. Right leg. Good. He started to turn around and hoist his upper body out, easing himself down gently, his feet found some niches in the wall. He looked straight ahead and froze. Tifa stood glaring daggers at him.

"Tifa wha-what are you doing here? I thought you were out, yo." Reno chuckled nervously. Why was it that every time he tried to get out, someone was always there to catch him sneaking off. He mentally cursed his luck.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tifa growled.

"Ehehehe…I doubt you'd believe me if I said I was just going out for a walk." Reno looked at the angry martial artist nervously.

"Going on a walk? In your condition?" She looked skeptical.

"Um…yes?" A goofy grin spread across Reno's face.

"Through a window?" She shot back sarcastically.

"Now, now, sarcasm doesn't become you." Reno bantered.

"Get back in here. NOW!" She barked.

Reno scrambled to get back in. He didn't want an angry Tifa on his back.

Once the redhead was back inside Tifa strode across the room and shut and locked the window.

"Go to bed."

"Ooh, I like a woman who knows what she wants."

She rolled her eyes. "Get some rest. I'll wake you up when dinner's ready."

"Where's Strife?"

"Can't you just do what you're told?"

"And make things easier for you? I could do that…but that wouldn't be much fun."

Tifa was becoming exasperated.

"Please rest." She couldn't stress the 'please' enough.

"Will you tell me where Strife is?"

"Will you go to bed?"

"Touché."

Seeing Tifa's expression, Reno gave in.

"I'll be good if you tell me where Cloud went."

"Will you get some more rest?"

"Persistent much." Damn, she caught my loophole.

"Reno" Tifa warned.

"Fine. I'll go to bed." Reno relented.

"Thank you. Cloud's on a delivery to Kalm. He'll be back later tonight."

"Ah, ok."

They stared at one another.

"Well?"

"What?" Tifa managed to look innocent.

"Will you leave?"

"I will." She didn't budge.

"Then leave."

"When you get into bed."

Reno sighed but got under the covers.

Tifa was satisfied. "I'll be periodically checking up on you. You'd better be resting."

Reno shooed her away: "yeah, yeah."

"Reno, I mean it."

"Alright." Reno turned away from her.

Tifa paused, uncertainty written in her eyes. After a second's hesitation, she left the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Reno had just turned over onto his back, when he was brought into a coughing fit. He pulled his hand over his mouth, muffling the sound. He huddled in on himself. Red flecks decorated his hand. He groaned in pain. His throat was killing him. He sighed. Just another malady he had to endure until he died. Man, death was sounding more appealing by the day.

Sleep. He needed sleep. He willed himself into a peaceful slumber. He was so far gone that he didn't hear his phone ringing.

Reno awoke to Tifa shaking him.

"Reno, it's dinner time." She didn't wait for him to follow.

He tried to get up, but quickly doubled over as his body was racked up agony. 'I guess it's a new norm. Well, I guess my only comfort is knowing that I won't have to deal with it for much longer.'

He rolled over onto his side and slowly raised himself up. Careful. Careful. Nice and easy. Almost…There! He stood on shaky legs. Standing? Check. Walking?

He took a step. Steady. Steady. He took another step. Then another.

He deemed himself ok. Well, as ok as he was ever going to be. He made his trek down the stairs. Smile. SMILE! He wiped any traces of anguish off of his face and replaced it with a convincing smile.

"What's for dinner?" the Turk asked as he sat down.

"We're having lasagna. I made you soup." Tifa indicated the bowl.

Reno stared at the vegetable soup. HE shrugged. His insides were still trying to burst out of his skin, but the nausea wasn't too bad. He was sure he could force an appeasable amount down. He really wasn't hungry. He had mercifully lost his appetite. It would suck to be hungry and feel nauseous at the same time.

He put a spoonful of the soup into his mouth and nearly gagged. Luckily, years of living with Elena had allowed him to keep his expression neutral. It tasted like ash. He inwardly shuddered. Did he have to put more of that crap into his mouth? Tifa's expectant face said yes. HE wanted to smack himself into oblivion.

Reno steeled himself. He bravely picked up his spoon and put another spoonful into his mouth. Somehow, he thought Tifa's cooking would be better. He glanced over at the brats. They were eating her lasagna and weren't passing out. Maybe she only sucked at making soup.

He decided he'd best eat more and end his misery as quickly as possible.

He really couldn't stomach anymore that the first bite, but he'd somehow managed to consume about half of the soup before pushing the bowl away from him.

"I'm full." Well it wasn't a complete lie. He really wasn't hungry to begin with.

"Are you sure? You don't want anymore?"

"No!" Perhaps he said that too quickly, or it could have been the volume with which he said it.

Tifa's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm just really tired. Can I go back to bed?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes.

He knew he won when Tifa's gaze had softened.

"Of course."

He practically flew up the stairs, away from the garbage, -er soup.

By the time Cloud came back, the children and Reno were all asleep. Tifa was busy managing the bar. Cloud had had a long drive. All he wanted was a hot bath and a warm bed.

After his bath, Cloud went straight to his bed. He'd eat a bigger breakfast.

The next morning Cloud was woken up by the sound of whimpers. He cracked open his eyes and turned towards the unconscious redhead. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. Did his cold get worse? Cloud felt for Reno's temperature. He had a fever. Cloud rushed to get a cool cloth and placed it on the Turk's head. The cool cloth woke Reno up.

"…Strife?"

"Are you alright?"

Reno removed the cloth. "M'fine."

Reno acted like he wasn't in pain at all. This confounded Cloud. Maybe he had imagined it. He did just wake up.

"Well, since you're up, let's get breakfast." Cloud got up.

"You go ahead, I want to get a little more sleep 'fore Tseng get here, yo." Reno yawned. Without waiting for Cloud to respond, he started to huddle back into his warm blankets.

Cloud rolled his eyes and went to get himself some cereal.

Just as he was finishing his second bowl, his cell phone went off.

"Cloud." It was Tseng.

"I'm on my way to pick up Reno. I'll be there in about five minutes."

"Fine."

Tseng hung up. Cloud went to wake up Reno.

Five minutes later, Tseng was half-dragging the drowsy redhead into his car.

In the rush, Reno had left his cell phone. Cloud found it on his floor next to Reno's make-shift bed.

'One missed call' flashed across the screen. Curiosity won Cloud over and he pressed the voice mail.

"Reno, this is Dr. Grey. I may have a test drug that'll slow down the degradation process. I make no promises, but it may buy you a little bit more time. You're scheduled to see me tomorrow morning at 10:45am." The call ended. Cloud checked the date the message was sent. It was yesterday.

Cloud was relieved. Maybe this Dr. Grey would find a solution for Reno.

A/N: Mwahahahahahaha cliff hanger! Please Review! My hand has new calluses from writing this chapter. n.n


End file.
